Speaker 1: 0:00

So you're thinking about running but not sure how to take the first step. My name's Brian Patterson and I'm here to help, and welcome to Brian's Rompod. Welcome back to Brian's Rompod and, if you're still with me, thank you very much for carrying on listening A little bit of a different subject this week. So, first of all, this is the second time I've actually gone through this particular podcast. I did record one episode this episode outside and then listen to it again, and there's too many birds tweeting. Anyway, first of all, i'd like to say that I'm not a yoga guru, so this again, this is kind of all about my experience as puzzle trainer and also something I've just sort of read about. Anyway, however, there may be some of you out there who would like to include yoga as part of their running schedule, as it seems a more holistic approach to improving one's well-being. Whether you're new to running or more advanced, a regular yoga practice can help you stretch and strengthen the muscles you use to propel yourself along the road or trail. Yoga has other advantages for runners too, like teaching you to breathe more efficiently and improving your focus. So in this podcast, we will cover the following The benefits of yoga for runners. Key yoga poses for runners. We'll just go over some of the basic ones How to fit yoga into your running schedule, and so if you want to give your training a little bit of spice, then please do carry on listening.

Speaker 1: 2:12

So let's first of all go over some of the benefits. So when you hear yoga and your mind probably jumps to the various different poses and postures. Yoga poses can help you build the mobility and strength and recover from intense workouts. But now there are some various yoga terms which I'm not great at pronouncing, but I will have a go. So asanas are just one of the eight limbs of yoga. There are other seven limbs, including the pranayama focus on breath, and deharana, concentration and others. Runners can benefit from many aspects of yoga. So physical poses, so yoga poses, strength and strengthening muscles, while also helping quiet your mind for meditation. Yoga can also help you develop awareness of your mind, body's, orientation in space and with recovery. So the next time you lace up your shoes, you do so with a sense of renewed vitality.

Speaker 1: 3:20

So let's go on to discover the sort of physical benefits of yoga for runners. So yoga helps improve mobility Mobility in your joints, the ability to move through the full range of motion with control during a run or other activity, ideally runners with good mobility in their hips, knees and ankles. Yoga invites you to stretch the muscles that support those joints, like hamstring, glutes, quads and calves, with increased mobility and they can better support your joints to move freely on a run. So hopefully it will reduce any injuries and hopefully it will help with your technique in running. Yoga will help build strength. Yoga helps conditioning your stabilizing muscles that fry as a precursor to big movements like sprinting or charging uphill, and in this way it's ideal form of cross training for running. So during yoga you can build strength and stability using your body weight. Poses that require you to stand, lunge and squat can help you develop strength in your lower body.

Speaker 1: 4:36

Yoga helps with balance and pre-proper reception. I had to look that up. Most yoga classes involve some degree of balance, whether you move from one pose to the next or hold a pose while standing on one leg. Balance and pre-properception your body's ability to sense this position as you move through space can help runners navigate different terrain, from uneven sidewalks to rocky, rooty trails. When you run, you mostly go in one direction, forward, through a series of repeated actions. In yoga, you move your body through several different planes of motion, all the while noting where you are relative to the floor, the walls or the person practicing next to you. When you run, pre-properception helps you move into a coordinated way and make subtle adjustments to avoid falls and mishaps.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Yoga helps runners recover On a rest day. Your body replenishes its energy stores and repairs damaged tissues. This process helps build strength, which is why recovery is essential. A gentle yoga practice look for classes labeled for slow flow or restorative can help you relax your body and mind. Intentional movement can also help send blood and oxygen to your muscles, which, in turn, aids recovery. Stretching feels great, especially for runners with tight hamstrings and calves, but remember to listen to your body as you move through your practice and don't adopt any poses that are painful. It's okay in fact, some teachers say it's ideal to practice yoga for five to 20 minutes following your run. You don't need a full hour to enjoy yoga's physical and mental benefits.

Speaker 1: 6:30

Breath mastery Runners know the importance of breathing during a workout. The last thing you want when you're flying around the track is to be huffing and puffing. Pranayama, or the yoga yoga practice of focusing on breath, can help you send oxygen to your muscles during workouts and soothe your nervous system during recovery. So we all breathe through our noses or mouths, or sun combination of the two. Research shows that certain types of nasal breathing can boost runners performance. Yoga can help tune into how you breathe so that you can move more intentionally through your workouts. It also teaches you to breathe smoothly in and out through the nose, which research demonstrates calms the nervous system. This deep breathing can help you keep you cool during a grueling run. It can also help you relax and unwind on the recovery days.

Speaker 1: 7:28

What about concentration? Ever get lost listening to the tap, tap, tap of your shoes hitting the pavement during a run and somehow a half hour workout feels more like five minutes. If so, you've gotten a taste of what it feels like to quiet the mind for meditation. Some people say that if you're doing some kind of aerobic workout, after about 25 minutes you're kind of getting over that hump of it being quite tough and your breathing is heavy and laboured. But over that, then after 20 to 20, 30 minutes now you get into a zone. So if you've gotten the taste for what it feels like, it's a kind of mind for meditation. So now just lost my place, so the technique can be useful to tool on runs.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Adopting a single point of focus during a jog can help you slow your thoughts and become less impulsive. When you work out is especially tough, you might pause and notice yourself thinking this is really hard. You might even get lost in the run and feel time to fly by. So what you'll need to do is just concentrate on a physical object. This take this exercise like a vase or flowers, or mental image, like waves crashing on the beach, where your breath moving in and out, and the practice will help you quiet your mind. When your mind is quiet, it's less reactive. It's basically just getting into the zone your body is at one. It's working more efficiently. Other benefits are simply yogi routine loose and tight spots, strengthens weak areas and makes you a better, less injury prone runner.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Someone who's written on the web, rebecca Pachiko, says that yoga and running have always been intertwined in her life. She started running when she was 14 and doing yoga when she was 16. So she really didn't know one without the other. She says. Recognizing the benefits of the ancient practice can be both the runners improve the body, the runner's body improve the flexibility, range of motion and muscular strength and mind. As we've already said, pachiko, the author of Do Your Own Thing, bending Yoga Tradition to Fit Your Modern Life, is developed by Omathlete, a class to help runners improve performance and prevent injury, and yoga is the perfect recovery activity for runners. Pachiko says It relieves soreness and tension in your hardworking muscles and restores the range of motion so you can run better the next time you hit the road. Pachiko recommends doing these eight movements following a run or an arrest day, or both, but she cautions that they may feel a little bit uncomfortable. So first, especially if you're new to yoga and have been running with tight muscles for a long time, ease into each position and never push to the point of pain. As you continue to do this routine, you'll notice improvement on and off the mat. I do have a link to this particular website. I will explain as to how these were done, but if you need a sort of a visual representation of all these exercises, then there is a link as part of the show notes of the podcast.

Speaker 1: 11:25

So Downward Dog benefits stretches, hamstrings, calves, foot arches, strengthens shoulders. How to do it? Beginning your hands and knees align, wrists under the shoulders and knees under hips. Spread the fingers and press into palms, tuck toes and lift knees off the floor. Gently try to strengthen legs and raise hips into an inverted V. Breathe deeply for 10 breaths As your muscles relax. Try to strengthen legs more and sink heels towards the mat. Low lunge benefits stretches hip flexors, strengthens hamstrings and quads. How to do it From the Downward Dog step your right foot between your hands, lower your left knee and, keeping the right knee over the ankle, slide the left knee back, turn the top of your left foot to the floor and lift your torso upright. Then sweep your arms out to the sides and over your head and drop your tailbone towards the floor and look up and hold the 10 breaths and release. So it's basically a lunge, but we're in an elongated lunge.

Speaker 1: 12:38

The toes squat pose to ankle stretch pose. So benefits help prevent plantar facetizes a bribery, stretching the shins and arches of the feet. How to do it Kneel on your mat with the toes called under. Sit back on the heels. You can place a yoga block or pillow between your heels and glutes, if you like. Breathe deeply for 10 counts, then point toes, place your hands on the mat behind you and then lean back as you attempt to lift the knees off the mat If knees don't come far enough, don't worry, you'll still feel a nice stretch in the shins and arches. Hold for a few breaths and release.

Speaker 1: 13:23

Reclining hand to big toe benefits stretch as hamstrings. How to do it Line your back with both legs extended. Bend your right knee no right knee loop or yoga strap or dog leash or belt around the arch of the right foot and hold both ends of the strap with the right hand. Try to straighten the right leg as the hamstring relaxes. Try to gently pull it towards you, but don't strain. You should feel a good stretch down by the back of the thigh. Hold for 10 breaths and repeat on the other leg. Reclining pigeon benefits releases tension and tightness in the hips. How to do it Lie on your back with the knees bent and thighs parallel and hip distance apart. So Cross the left ankle over the right thigh and reach the left arm through the space between the thighs and reach the right arm around the outside of the thigh. Clasp the hands below the right knee and left and flex the left foot. If your head comes off the mat, place a pillow or block behind your head and hold for 10 breaths and repeat on the other leg.

Speaker 1: 14:44

Overclining cow face Benefits improves range of motion in the hips, loosens tight glutes and hamstrings. How to do it Line your back and cross knees, sending feet out to the sides. Hold onto the right foot with the left hand and left foot with the right hand or, if it's more comfortable, hold shins. Pull heels in toward the body, then out to the sides and slightly up. Hold for 10 breaths, then reverse the leg position and repeat Reclining spinal twist. So Benefits relaxes the lower back and stretches the glutes. How to do it From reclining cow face, lower your legs and twist to the left, while keeping legs entwined, extending both arms out to the sides.

Speaker 1: 15:34

Turn your head to the right and relax for 10 breaths and then switch sides. Legs up the wall. Benefits Well it relieves tension in the legs, feet and back and stretches the hamstrings and glutes. How to do it Settle up the side and open wall space with your hips as close to the base of the wall as is comfortable. Swing the legs up to the wall and lie back. Rest here anywhere from 10 breaths to 10 minutes. Some people even nod off. Sleep is the most essential recovery pose. It's also quite good for getting rid of well, not essentially getting rid of varicose veins, but helping with the circulation in the legs.

Speaker 1: 16:20

So, in summary, runners are often reluctant to try yoga. The most common fear is that they are not flexible enough. You know, sometimes I feel that as well. It is not uncommon for those attending the first yoga yoga for runners class to ask whether the room will be filled with lithe, flexible bodies, in spite of the class being advertised for runners. No yoga experience is necessary. This fear may be driven by my media images showing people in advance yoga poses, fueling the notion that you have to be able to bend like a pretzel to do yoga. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Yoga is suitable for every body type. It can be started at any age, regardless of the physical condition, and those who are the stiffest have the most to gain, especially runners, who have tremendous amounts to gain from adding yoga to their fitness regimes. And being runners, you do find that the repetitive physical demands of running is going to stiffen joints like ankles, and also you are going to be prone to injuries at the hips and glutes and hamstrings. So why not give yoga a go?

Speaker 1: 17:45

Does yoga improve running speed? Well, yoga can help improve running speed in a number of ways. Yoga for runners will create flexibility and balance between all your major muscles, which are vital if you want to run fast. Yoga poses also have the effect of calming the mind, preventing the buildup of stress which occurs when you train hard. As this is tension mental to both speed and endurance. Yoga doesn't just target physical limitations either. Yoga has been shown to enhance mental strength, which gives an athlete much more control over the body during periods of high intensity training and competition. Thank you, running, as I said, can lead to injury because of the repetitive nature and resulting in moscow skeletal imbalances. On a physical level, yoga restores balance and symmetry to the body, making it a perfect complement to running.

Speaker 1: 18:44

Runners are often drawn to yoga to deal with specific issues such as improving flexibility or helping with injury. Yet many are shot at the world. It opens up to them, specifically, the strengthening capacity and the use of muscles than ever knew they had. Now, how many times a week should we do it? Well, for yoga to have the most effect on runners, it is recommended that you do yoga at least three times a week. However, if your body can handle more yoga, then feel free to go as often as you want, just make sure not to overdo it, because yoga isn't supposed to be painful or exhausting.

Speaker 1: 19:23

I know some people ask what is better for runners yoga or pilates. This is a question I did ask myself And according to an article in Men's Yoga Journal a link will be provided in the show notes Both yoga and pilates provide huge benefits for runners. Yoga is a great workout in itself, but also helps with strength training, which can make you faster on track. Pilates strengthens your core muscles, which is extremely important for a multitude of aerobic endurance exercises, especially as a runner who will be using the body to run long distances. Combining yoga and pilates would probably give runners much better results. So if you want the maximum benefit, then try both. I know.

Speaker 1: 20:15

For me, i've always felt that my ankles, as I said, are lacked flexibility and that because I sit most of the time for work, i have a very tight hip flexors or don't have very strong glutes. So, tip of the week This is a bit of a strange tip of the week, but I know some people some of us out there like to listen to music, audio books, podcasts when they're going out running. So you will have one of these fancy, you know, airpods, airpods or the Amazon Pods or whatever. I have the AirPods Pro, but it's the tip is really concerning about charging them. Now I've continually had a problem recently of charging my AirPods Pro. Either one charges and not the other, and I have to double check on my phone that the AirPods Pro are charging properly.

Speaker 1: 21:28

And so it seems and I found it, you know, really convenient that you decide to go out for a run and then suddenly one airport is charged and the other one is on 0%. Anyway, the other day I noticed that one of the tips of the airport to split, so, although they has lasted me for, like you know, two years, so it's not surprising that there is some wear and tear. So I'll do another pair of tips. These are nine pounds And I think that would be the same in dollars. But before you put your arms on the air and say that's expensive, why don't you buy some cheaper ones on Amazon? I just found in my experience it's false economy. I've tried cheaper versions of tech online And more often they don't work. Anyway, i replaced the old ones and, hey presto, the airports are just like new in terms of charging. I don't have any issues. So, for a small outlay, if your airports prove aren't charging properly, then why not give this tip a try?